Sunday, June 6, 2010

Stone Garden Planters

Aren't these cool? They are made with pieces of slate or riverstone and held together with rapid set cement.* We made them in a dishpan of moistened play sand. You stick the stones in the sand upright to create the shape you want the planter to be and then pour in a soupy mix of the cement. We added some black acrylic paint to the cement to make it darker and used pieces of twigs to make drainage holes. To make the cement "soupy" use a proportion of 4 parts cement to 1 part water. You can leave all the mess/work to us and come make one here on Wednesday, June 9th 2010.
(Call 717-697-5111 to make a reservation.)
* Be sure to use rapid set cement, not concrete. Too much aggregate in the concrete and they will not hold as well.

7 comments:

Linda said...

Those are fabulous planters, and I just might have to try making one myself.

VictorianDecorShop said...

What a great idea! So unique and very natural looking!

Marilyn Miller said...

Clever idea. I will share this with my husband, the gardener.

Donna and Miss Spenser said...

Yes, these are very cool! Just curious...was your riverstone stone you had laying around naturally, or did you purchase it? I am thinking out in PA you have more natural riverstone like that?? You gals are so clever! ~Donna

taylorsoutback said...

Just found you by way of Lemon Verbena Lady...love the idea of stone planters! How timely too. We are heading to Canada and Alaska later this summer for our 3rd trip. There are many areas where pieces of slate have slipped onto the shoulders of the roads. I have a few pieces in my herb garden all ready. They also make nice ID signs by painting the herb's name on the surface - very natural looking. Thanks so much for sharing.

parTea lady said...

Your planters look great! What a wonderful idea to make them from pieces of slate.

Wish I could attend your workshop.

Corinne said...

Sorry to be commenting a year late, but I ran across this post and really liked the idea. There is a lot of river rock around her. I am not sure how it works as I am craft deficient. The play sand is to hold the pieces in place? And the quick cement does it make a solid bottom for the pot keeping the sand with it? Then you said something about the twig drain holes, how do I put them in?
Again sorry for all these questions but the pot is so kewl surely even one as inept as me can make it? LOL
Corinne